Narrative:The CASA 212 was contracted by the US Department of Defense to supply American forces deployed in remote areas of Afghanistan. After departure the did not follow the intended course of 170 degrees but instead flew to the northwest. The airplane entered a box canyon and struck the 14,650 foot level of Baba Mountain, which has a peak elevation of 16,739 feet. The flight was about 25 nm north of the typical route between Bagram and Farah.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captainís inappropriate decision to fly a nonstandard route and his failure to maintain adequate terrain clearance, which resulted in the inflight collision with mountainous terrain. Factors were the operatorís failure to require its flight crews to file and to fly a defined route of flight, the operatorís failure to ensure that the flight crews adhered to company policies and FAA and DoD Federal safety regulations, and the lack of in-country oversight by the FAA and the DoD of the operator. Contributing to the death of one of the passengers was the operatorís lack of flight-locating procedures and its failure to adequately mitigate the limited communications capability at remote sites."

Coordinate with the Department of Defense to ensure oversight, including periodic en route inspections, is provided at all contractor bases of operation for civilian contractors that provide aviation transportation to the U.S. military overseas under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 or Part 135. (Closed - Acceptable Action)

Issued: 04-DEC-2006

To: US DoD

A-06-78

Coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure oversight, including periodic en route inspections, is provided at all contractor bases of operation for civilian contractors that provide aviation transportation to the U.S. military overseas under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 or Part 135. (Closed - Acceptable Action)

Issued: 04-DEC-2006

To: US DoD

A-06-79

Require that civilian contractors that provide aviation transportation to the U.S. military in remote locations equip each aircraft with a real-time tracking system. (Closed - Acceptable Action)

Issued: 04-DEC-2006

To: US DoD

A-06-80

Require that civilian contractors that provide aviation transportation to the U.S. military in remote locations equip each aircraft with a global positioning system-equipped 406-megahertz emergency locator transmitter. (Closed - Acceptable Action)

Issued: 04-DEC-2006

To: US DoD

A-06-81

Provide emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal-monitoring services for civilian contractor flights that provide aviation transportation to the U.S. military in remote locations when those flights are operated in a theater where the governing authority does not participate in Cosmicheskaya Sistyema Poiska Avariynich Sudov (translation (Closed - Acceptable Action)

Consider improving search and rescue services in accordance with the Standards and Recommended Practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization Annex 12, Search and Rescue, with particular emphasis on cooperation with other States and locally available organizations that maintain search and rescue capabilities. (Open - Await Response)

This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path. Distance from Bagram Air Base to Farah Airport as the crow flies is 711 km (444 miles).Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Networkís opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.